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The recent decision
of the Indian government to declare Sarabjit Singh, an alleged spy who
died after being assaulted in a Pakistani jail a martyr, lacks wisdom.
Sarabjit Singh was convicted by the Pakistani courts for 1990 bombings
that left 14 people dead. Though Singh had claimed innocence and there
were efforts to get him released on humanitarian grounds at the
government’s level, the Indian authorities have chosen to describe him a
martyr or brave son of soil following his death in Jinnah Hospital in
Pakistan, where he was struggling for life after being left viciously
attacked by the jail inmates.
Until recently, Singh’s family and his Canada-based supporters claimed
that he had accidentally crossed the international border between India
and Pakistan and was wrongly implicated in the crime. A few Canadians
spearheaded campaign for his release.
His native village, Bhikhiwind is situated close to the zero line that
divides India and Pakistan. His family claimed that he had mistakenly
strayed into the Pakistan territory.
Incidentally, Bhai Bhag Singh, a towering leader of the East Indian
community in Vancouver, who was assassinated by a spy of the British
Empire in 1914, belonged to the same village. He was in the forefront of
the struggle for right to vote to the Indian immigrants and had challenged
the racist immigration laws of the Canadian government. He was associated
with the Ghadar Party, a group that believed in an armed rebellion against
the British Empire that occupied India back then. Ghadar Party was formed
by the Indian immigrants on the pacific coast of North America in 1913 to
resist racism and foreign occupation of their homeland. The movement was
born out of discriminatory experiences endured by these men as the British
government did not come to their rescue whenever there was an assault on
their rights from the White supremacy. Since these men came to this part
of the world as British subjects and Canada too was a British colony, they
were disillusioned by the indifference of the Empire. Bhag Singh had
previously served in the British army. As a mark of protest he organized
an event where the former British Sikh soldiers burnt their medals and
uniforms, severing loyalty towards the Empire. Bhag Singh died after being
shot by Bela Singh, an agent of the Immigration department that spied on
the East Indian community in Vancouver.
Whereas, the Indian establishment has completely forgotten Bhag Singh and
his contributions with no significant effort to raise a fitting memorial
for him at his native village, a controversial figure like Sarabjit Singh
has received extra ordinary attention. The development comes when Ghadar
Party centenary is being celebrated in India and other parts of the world.
The fatal attack on Singh in Pakistani jail followed the hanging of a
Pakistani extremist, Ajmal Amir Kasab, who was behind the terror attack on
Mumbai, India in 2008 that left more than 100 people dead. Had Pakistan
declared him a hero, the Indian government would have quickly branded
their neighbours a ``terrorist state’’. How wise therefore the move to
glorify Sarabjit Singh as hero can be?
Even otherwise, how can a man become martyr while being an innocent victim
of circumstances? By declaring him a martyr, the government has actually
belittled the real martyrs and national heroes, like Bhag Singh who fought
consciously against injustices.
At a strategic level too this is a bad decision. It is like an indirect
endorsement of a terrorist crime allegedly committed by Singh in Pakistan.
Let’s face it that the Indian government failed to handle the whole affair
appropriately. Just to pacify public anger and hide its own weaknesses, it
is trying to silence its critics by indulging in jingoism.
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